Norwalk teen killed in crash

Todd Jordan couldn't be dead. Clements had just talked to him online the night before.

"Everybody was saying today Todd passed, but I told them, 'No he didn't, I just talked to him yesterday,' so I tried calling him but only got his voice mail, so then I checked the Internet and read about the crash," said Clements, 23, of Norwalk.

"I didn't believe it until I saw it for myself. It's one of those things you may believe, but you don't want to believe. Even when you see it, you don't want it to be true."

Jordan, 19, a senior at Norwalk High School, died from a one-vehicle car crash that occurred at about 9:50 p.m. Tuesday on Shaw Mill Road in Milan Township, just west of Plank Road.

Traveling east in a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt, on his way to pick up his mother's fianc from work, Jordan failed to negotiate a moderate curve, shooting across the oncoming-traffic lane.

He smashed into a telephone pole at the bottom of a driveway at 14701 Shaw Mill Road.

The impact was so strong it splintered the pole and wrecked the car.

Emergency crews had to free Jordan from the car with mechanical tools.

Family members said he had a weak pulse, but later died at Fisher-Titus Medical Center in Norwalk.

News of his death sent a wave of shock and sadness rippling through northern Huron County.

Norwalk High School principal Brad Cooley said more than 20 students sought counseling services on Wednesday morning to cope with the loss.

More than a couple broke into sobs as they roamed the halls. A few left school early.

Jordan has attended both Norwalk and Bellevue high schools. He has hop-scotched between the cities, living with his aunt and mother at different times.

More recently, he attended Norwalk High School from fall 2008 to spring 2009, but then switched to an online class for the remainder of the year, school officials said.

Jordan was taking three morning classes this year at the high school -- the only requirements he needed to graduate in June 2010.

An average student, Jordan adored basketball and played it every chance he could with Clements and others. He was supposed to shoot hoops with Clements on Wednesday evening.

He was also a member of Norwalk High School's first bowling team last year.

Josh Ferguson, a 2009 Norwalk graduate, said Jordan was a jokester -- the kind of person who cheered people up when they were in a bad mood.

"He was an all-around good guy," Ferguson said. "He'll crack you up -- if you're having a bad day and see him, oh my God, your day will change."

Ferguson, also an avid bowler, said he is working on a bowling-themed memorial to place at the site of Jordan's crash.

Jordan's aunt Cathee Crumrine said the description of her nephew as a jokester is accurate -- he never missed an opportunity to crack wise and elicit a laugh.

"He always came over with his pants sagging and would take off running, thinking I was going to get him for it," Crumrine said. "He was such a character -- he's just a good kid."

Crumrine said her nephew had tons of friends and was never happier than when on the basketball court or bowling lane.

His big, blue eyes will forever be ingrained in her memory.

Another aunt, Beth Spencer, said people don't come more thoughtful than her nephew.

"He's a wonderful kid. It was his personality -- he gets along with everybody," Spencer said. "He would bend his back over for anybody -- he would take his shirt off and give it to you if you needed it."

The investigation into the crash continues, but drugs and alcohol were not suspected factors.